How much is the WC insured for?

The BCCI is keen not to lose any hard-earned capital this World Cup. With just a week left to go for the big tournament, they have insured the mega-event against every unfortunate incident short of an earthquake.

Indeed, the Board have taken out insurance against event cancellation i.e., any disruption due to adverse weather or if a team fails to show up for a match. It has also sought cover for any terrorist incident during the Cup, which since, Nov 26, 2008 (the date of the last major terror strike in India) has seemed a looming possibility.

The tournament will be held across India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and will end on April 2. Of the 49 matches, 24 will be played in India, with the final being hosted by Mumbai.

A senior executive of the National Insurance company said the policy would kick in if BCCI"s revenues were affected due to the aforesaid contingencies.

The league matches of the big event are insured for Rs 1-1.5 crore each. The semi finals and the final have been insured for Rs 10 crore and Rs 15 crore, respectively.

BCCI has taken a Rs 123-crore policy for protection against incidents of terror. In the wake of the Mumbai attacks in Nov 2008, organisers have started taking separate terror-related covers. The rates have gone up significantly by 25-30 per cent.

However, insurance of players has not been taken out till now. But according to the executive, individual teams might take cover for their players, with the projected rate Rs 2.5 crore per player.

ESPN Star-Sports, the official broadcaster for the ICC World Cup, has got itself a separate insurance cover of Rs 600 crore. The broadcaster has paid a premium of Rs 9 crore for the policy.